The Police IndexStop data: 2024 ยท Pay and hiring checked Nov 2026

Know the department before you apply

Pay, hiring steps and what the work looks like at 11 police agencies in San Diego County. Every figure comes from public records and links to its source.

Rankings

Highest Applicant Score

  1. La Mesa Police85
  2. Carlsbad Police65
  3. Chula Vista Police61
How the score works

Highest starting salary

  1. La Mesa Police$112,153
  2. National City Police$109,152
  3. Carlsbad Police$109,120
All pay rankings

Shortest stated hiring time

  1. La Mesa Police2 to 8 months
  2. San Diego Police3 to 4 months
  3. Chula Vista Police3 to 5 months
All hiring rankings

Who polices where

Nine cities in the county run their own police department. Pick one on the map to open it.

Everywhere else, shown in gray, is patrolled by the Sheriff: the unincorporated county and nine cities that contract for service.

Harbor Police works the Port tidelands along San Diego Bay and the airport.

Western San Diego County. Outlines: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files, 2023, 1:500,000.

All 11 departments

Where the numbers come from

What the work looks like
204,621 stops these agencies reported to the California Department of Justice for 2024.
Pay and hiring
Each agency's own job postings, salary schedules, union contracts and budgets, with the date checked.
What is missing
When an agency does not publish something, the page says "Not published" and never fills the gap with an estimate.
Independence
Not affiliated with any agency. Agencies cannot pay to change a figure or a ranking.